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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23356243">Light of Árnadalr (when all is lost, then all is found)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SorrowsFlower/pseuds/SorrowsFlower'>SorrowsFlower</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supergirl (TV 2015)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Also NOT Elsanna, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Frozen AU, I will try to keep it to a minimum but just letting you know now, Kara has no powers but oh boy Lena does, Lena As The Ice Queen, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Rating May Change, SuperCorp, There will be some psychological abuse and gaslighting here, There's some similarities but this is not that kind of story, This is a mess. But it's a gay mess so..., Unrequited Love, Worry Not there will be a lot of 'Conceal Don't Feel' going on here, karlena</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:28:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,545</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23356243</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SorrowsFlower/pseuds/SorrowsFlower</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>For years, stories have been told of the Ice Queen who lives in the mountains -- a malevolent sorceress who has cursed the kingdom of Árnadalr with long winters and hunger, who takes the good people of the land to fuel her terrible magic. Kara always thought they were just fairy tales... Until the children start disappearing. </p><p>When her sister is appointed Captain of the Guard and goes missing on a mission to retrieve the children, Kara is desperate enough to brave the mountains to find her. They say the Ice Queen lives on the coldest, most treacherous peak -- in a fortress made of ice, surrounded by the foulest creatures. They say none who lay eyes upon her live to tell the tale.</p><p>And Kara's about to meet her.</p><p> </p><p>or the Frozen AU.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Mild Alex Danvers/Kelly Olsen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>119</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. PROLOGUE: Born of cold winter air and mountain rain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I seriously just need to get this crap out of my brain. It's taking up too much space. Inspired somewhat loosely by Frozen 1 and 2 and the Broadway show.</p><p>Just in case anyone's wondering, Fjellregn is pronounced like "fyell-rine".</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Her name is Fjellregn.</p><p>She was named for the mountain rain - gentle and nourishing. Her nature has always emulated this. </p><p>Within the village, she is the one who cares for all. Every living creature that feels her gentle touch flourishes -- from the children under her care, to the sick who listen to her calming voice, to the deer who eat from hands. The ancient and powerful Harun-El, the gift of the mountains that her people safeguard, is called to her hands from deep beneath the earth during harvest.</p><p>Even the harsh winter air tempers at her touch. If only for a moment. </p><p>He comes to their mountain village once.</p><p>A visit feared by many, for Lionel Luthor’s insidious temper is known throughout all lands, and even those he does not govern in the mountains are fearful of his wrath.</p><p>But the mountain rain does not fear the winter.</p><p>She touches him as she does all else, gently, with an open, giving palm. And the King of Árnadalr is on his knees at the feet of the mountain herself.</p><p>A week turns into many, and the King all but forgets the Queen and the young son he has left behind in the lowlands. The people below whose lives he owns are but distant memories. The mountain rain's cool voice washes over him like a benediction, cleansing and forgiving, and in her gentle presence, he forgets the Luthor name.</p><p>But the winter is harsh and cold, unrepentant and unstoppable, and its nature changes for no one. Not even the mountain. She realizes this when he leaves her with no warning and no remorse. </p><p>And the mountain weeps. Alone and unheard by any human, the mountain weeps in a torrential downpour that waters the sorrowful seed planted inside her.</p><p>The weeping abates only on the coldest day of that year, when the frost bites into one's very bones and the sunlight sparkles through fractals of ice suspended in the air. </p><p>This is how the world greets the daughter of Fjellregn and Lionel Luthor.</p><p> </p><p>****</p><p> </p><p>****</p><p> </p><p>****</p><p> </p><p>Born of cold winter air and mountain rain, Lena is meant for a great destiny. Everyone in the village knows this, and indeed, anyone can see that the child herself is extraordinary.</p><p>From the beginning, her keen intelligence and insatiable curiosity are apparent to all who meet her. She is so full of questions about the world around her that most days neither Fjellregn nor the village scholar, Myriah can hardly keep up with her.</p><p>Lena learns to read much younger than the other children, and she devours all the books in Myriah's library before she turns four. When she comes begging for more knowledge to satisfy her hungry young mind, Myriah begins telling her the stories of their elders instead, imparting knowledge of the Harun-El and its wonders, which Lena voraciously commits to memory.</p><p>Myriah tells her stories of how the Harun-El blessed the mountain people’s ancestors, how it bestowed its gifts upon them. </p><p>“Did you never wonder, little one, how your mother calls the Harun-El every harvest when no one else can? Or why you never feel cold, even when you run with your naughty little feet bare in the snow?”</p><p>Lena’s eyes grow wide and she clutches at Myriah’s knee, a look of wonder on her face. Tiny snowflakes begin to form in the air above her head, even with the heat of the fireplace beside them. Myriah watches in amusement as one of the snowflakes falls onto the tip of Lena’s nose. She brushes it away, and the child giggles.</p><p>“Is that because of the Harun-El?”</p><p>Myriah smiles and Lena reaches up a hand to touch her face. Myriah is older than her Mama, with more wrinkles etched into her dark face, but when she smiles, her whole face lights up. “Yes, little one. Our people have protected and cared for the Harun-El for generations, and because of this, it blesses us with our gifts.”</p><p>Lena squints suspiciously at her. “Is that how you knew I was the one who found the baby bird? The one Kelly made better? You told Mama I was the one who found it.”</p><p>“You know the caves aren’t safe, Lena, and you are never supposed to go there on your own. They’re too far up the mountain, and too close to the ravine. You could have been seriously hurt, and not even Kelly’s gifts could have helped you then.”</p><p>“I know,” Lena hangs her head, her lower lip jutting out. “But the bird was crying! It was hurt! And Kelly said she could help it!”</p><p>Myriah’s face becomes stern, and she bends down to meet Lena’s eyes. “You should have asked for help. Those caves are dangerous, Lena.”</p><p>“But Mama goes there --”</p><p>“Your mother goes to the caves for the harvest. She learned a long time ago to speak to the Harun-El and it guides her. You are still a child. You must never go there by yourself again.”</p><p>“I’m sorry.” Immediately, the child wraps her arms around Myriah, looking up at her with a contrite little face that Myriah could never stay angry at. She shakes her head and puts her arms around the little girl </p><p>“Is that how you always know what I’m thinking, Myriah?" Lena asks, wriggling in Myriah's arms. "Did you get that gift from the Harun-El? Why don’t I know what you’re thinking? Is that how Kelly made the baby bird better? Did she get that from the Harun-El too? Why can’t I do that?”</p><p>“We each are given different gifts, little one. They are blessings that the Harun-El gives us. What we do with them is up to us.”</p><p> </p><p>****</p><p> </p><p>****</p><p> </p><p>****</p><p> </p><p>Fjellregn takes her daughter to the caves during harvest once.</p><p>She takes the child’s hand and leads her far up the mountain, where the white world is just waking up from its winter sleep. The sounds are muted by the snow, but Lena’s pealing laugh carries in the thin wind as she runs barefoot into thick white snowdrifts, scaring a sleeping fox and her kits, playing heedless of the cold as if it were the middle of summer.</p><p>The little girl grows quiet, however, as they near the caves. She draws closer to her mother, clinging to her dress. Arms pull her close, and a soft voice croons a gentle lullaby in her ear.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Within the mountain, dark and deep, </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Flows a river full of memory. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Hush, my darling, safe and sound </em>
</p><p>
  <em> For in this river, all is found. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> In its kindness, we reside. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Nature’s perfect harmony designed </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Gives us love we pay in kind. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Show it rage, and rage you’ll find. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> In the mountain, you’ll find me, </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Waiting mother, full of memory. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Come, my darling, homeward bound. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> When all is lost, then all is found. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Lena burrows into the folds of her mother's cloak, as Fjellregn’s voice echoes through the icy cavern. The ground itself seems to tremble at her soft voice, shifting at her presence. Fjellregn lets go of Lena’s hand for a moment, and the wide-eyed little girl watches as her hand touches the walls of the cave, running her hands over rock and ice and snow. </p><p>“It’s alright, my love.” Her mother’s gentle voice calms Lena despite the shaking walls. “Look.”</p><p>The walls tremble again, snow shifting and dusting onto Lena’s hair. Curiosity overtakes the child. Snow, she likes. A small dark head peeks out from Fjellregn’s cloak.</p><p>Her mother’s gloved hand lies on a wall that is coated with ice. The walls rumble again, shuddering under her touch, and a dark shape appears beneath the crystalline surface. At first, Lena thinks it’s all black, but when she looks closer, she sees the many rippling facets of the dark shape, glinting in the subtle light of the cave as it moves closer to her mother’s hand. Fjellregn smiles as the wide-eyed child shuffles closer and closer. </p><p>Lena gasps when the dark shape breaks the icy surface and flows, slow and viscous, like honey, onto her mother’s palm. Fjellregn cups a small handful of it, and the flow stops and recedes back into the ice, leaving behind an irregular lump of solid mineral in her hand. </p><p>Lena inspects it curiously. It’s not black at all, not all of it, but rather made up of so many different colors blending into one dark ore. She touches it with one small, hesitant finger and it glows slightly, warming under her skin.</p><p>“You can try it.”</p><p>Lena’s eyes grow as big as saucers, excitement and wonder growing in the bright green gaze that stares up at her mother. “I can?!”</p><p>Fjellregn hums encouragingly, which is enough for Lena to stretch out a tiny hand and lay it on the ice. The frost tickles her fingers like always and it makes her laugh, fear receding now in the face of the familiar.</p><p>“Now, you must call the Harun-El to you.”</p><p>“How?”</p><p>Fjellregn smiles. “You’ll know. You must trust it, and yourself. Do you feel it?”</p><p>Lena screws her little face up in concentration, pushing her hand stubbornly into the ice as if pushing hard enough would make the glistening dark shape beneath it come to her. Nothing happens.</p><p>Lena pouts, dropping her hand. “It won’t come!”</p><p>“You must feel it first.” Fjellregn takes the small hand in her own gloved one, and presses it gently to the wall again.  Lena pouts because she <em>can’t</em> feel anything. All she can feel is the ice under her bare fingers. It feels nice and friendly and light, like it always does in Lena’s hand. But the dark shape under it is unresponsive.</p><p>“You must speak to it. Here,” her mother touches the top of Lena’s head with her free hand, “and here,” Fjellregn’s hand moves to her chest.</p><p>Lena huffs, but makes another attempt. There’s still no sound from the dark shape, but the ice shifts cheerfully under her fingers, pliant and friendly. She tries speaking to the dark shape.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Hello, I’m Lena.... You and my Mama are friends. She’s nice, and I know you like her. I’m nice too. Look, the ice and I are friends. We can be friends too! </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The ice under her hand shifts again, and this time, Lena can hear the tiniest humming sound under the light crackly tingling of the ice. Her keen attention hones in on it, and slowly the humming sound becomes <em>just</em> a little bit louder, as loud as a whisper in her ear now.</p><p>She urges more of the ice to shift out of the Harun-El’s way, and as she watches, a small tendril unfurls itself from the dark shape, inching slowly towards her. She cajoles it along, cooing at it the way she talked to that bird she and Kelly helped.</p><p>After a long moment, the tiny dark tendril breaks through the last layer of ice, helped along by Lena’s magic. It unfurls into her hand slowly, pooling into a small drop that lands in her palm. </p><p>“I did it, Mama!” Lena squeals in delight, cupping the tiny black droplet in her hand. She holds it out proudly for her mother to see. “I did it! I called it, and it came!”</p><p>“Well done, my darling!” Fjellregn kisses her on the cheek and smiles, marvelling once again at the child in front of her. “I’m so proud of you!” </p><p>Someday, Lena will learn that it took Fjellregn herself years before she was able to harvest even the smallest drop of Harun-El, despite her own magic. Someday, Lena will learn that no one else can do the things she does. </p><p>Someday, Lena will learn how extraordinary she is. She will learn that despite the sorrow she was born from, she fills her mother’s life with light. </p><p>Someday, Lena will grow into a strong and powerful young woman, and Fjellregn will be right there beside her, guiding her way.</p><p> </p><p>****</p><p> </p><p>****</p><p> </p><p>****</p><p> </p><p>The next winter, everything changes.</p><p>Their tiny mountain village is thrumming with whispered rumors and worried exchanges clouded by furtive looks. The tension is thick, with rumors of the lowland people -- soldiers from the kingdom of Árnadalr -- venturing more and more outside their valley borders and into the mountains, some even traversing the risky mountain pass. For what purpose, no one in the village knows.</p><p>For the most part, Lena doesn’t notice. She is a child after all, not quite five years old yet, and finds her comrades more engaging than secret conversations between adults. </p><p>She climbs snow-laden tree branches and waits for an unsuspecting Kelly to walk under the tree, before shaking the branches and half-burying the older girl in snow. More often than not, they end up with Kelly chasing her halfway down the village while Lena makes little snowdrifts -- she can’t quite make big ones yet -- rise directly in her friend’s path.</p><p>The Nals’ youngest child, Nico often toddles behind them, sometimes tripping over snowdrifts while his older sister Maeve sniffs haughtily at them from the window.</p><p>When they’ve exhausted all the hours of play, Lena huddles with Kelly, and Myriah’s daughters Khym and Tania by the fire, drinking the hot cocoa that Myriah’s husband, a travelling scholar, brought home from one of his travels. Lena often ends up shucking off the coat she doesn’t need so she can lay it over a sleeping Nico, while she and the others listen in rapt attention to Myriah’s stories.</p><p>It happens in the night, when no one expects it.</p><p>The village sleeps peacefully under a heavy blanket of snow.</p><p>The first stirring comes from the mouth of the village. There is little warning, only the quiet crackling of fire as it spreads, quickly and insidiously, roaring louder and louder as it gathers more fuel and consumes what it can. The houses at the mouth of the village are the first to collapse, engulfed by flames before their owners even awaken.</p><p>Then come the shouts -- of those who awake to find their homes filled with smoke and flame. More still awake to find dark hooded shadows looming over them -- a flash of a deadly Árnadalrian blade the only portent of their fate. The screams are quickly silenced, but more and more echo across the village.</p><p>In their little cottage, Lena wakes blearily to the sight of her mother’s face, pale and awash with fear. Fjellregn is still dressed in her nightclothes, but a cloak has been thrown haphazardly over her shoulders. “Mama--?!!”</p><p>Fjellregn quickly claps a hand over the child’s mouth, muffling her confused exclamation. She presses a finger to her lips and shakes her head. Lena nods, and allows her mother to wrap a small cloak around her shoulders. Outside Lena’s window, the gentle blue-grey dark of the snowy mountain night has been lit by a terrible orange glow, and frightening shadows chase and pounce upon each other.</p><p>“It’s alright, my darling. Mama’s here,” Fjellregn shushes, voice barely a whisper. “But you must be very, very quiet now. Close your eyes and hold onto me.”</p><p>Her mother doesn’t waste time. She picks Lena up in her arms and quietly, ever so quietly, makes her way to the back of the house, trying desperately to avoid being seen or heard. </p><p>Lena clutches a lock of her mother’s hair and screws her eyes shut. She’s frightened, she doesn’t understand what’s going on. Around her, she can hear people shouting and yelling. She can hear children crying and screaming, dogs yelping and horses whinnying in terror. Behind her eyelids, a flickering orange glow blazes.</p><p><em>“<strong>Run! Flee to the caves! Go!”</strong></em>  Lena hears Myriah’s voice yelling over the commotion. <em>“<strong>Quickly--!”</strong></em></p><p>Myriah’s shout is cut off with a horrible gurgling sound, and Lena whimpers into her mother’s cloak, knowing with a frightened clarity that something terrible is happening.</p><p>She wants to cry and ask what’s going on, but Mama said to be quiet. She burrows closer to her mother’s chest. Lena is safe here. Veiled by her mother’s dark hair and clasped close to her heart, nothing can hurt Lena here.</p><p>Fjellregn climbs the mountain quickly, cradling her precious load tightly in her arms. Her feet remember the steps she has taken a thousand times before, muscle memory guiding her up the treacherous mountain pass. The thought of her friends weighs her down and threatens to slow her feet -- Myriah and her girls, the Olsens and little Kelly, the Nals and their little ones, Maeve and baby Nico who isn't even a year old yet….</p><p>The burning inferno that is her home recedes behind her, and her lungs and throat are thick with smoke and tears, but Fjellregn forces herself not to look back, only clutching her daughter tighter. </p><p>She must keep Lena safe.</p><p>She keeps to the familiar path, knowing the ravine is too close, too dangerous, and if she strays, they both fall. The wind lashes at her and the cold is quick to seep into her bones. The snow piles higher the farther up the mountain she goes. She knows her trail will be easy to follow now, even for the most inexperienced of trackers. Even the soldiers will find the path she leaves behind.</p><p>Lena’s hand curls tightly around a lock of her hair, and Fjellregn trudges on. The mountain is dangerous, but those who pursue them are more dangerous still. She <em>knows</em> who is behind her, and what will happen if she stops.</p><p>She’s thankful that Lena can’t feel the cold. At least the child is spared that much. But as for Fjellregn herself… Her whole body shivers, unprotected as she is from the elements. Her fingers sting from the cold, and she can no longer feel her toes. Still, she pushes on, through whipping winds and snow drifts that slow her down and threaten to engulf her. She’s almost there…..</p><p>The whinnying of horses behind her makes her heart pound in fear, and she pushes faster. The mouth of the cave is within sight. Quickly now, quickly. She <em>must</em> keep Lena safe.</p><p>Fjellregn reaches the caves before the soldiers spot her, and she gasps a prayer of gratitude, her breath crystallizing in the frozen air. Her numb hands feel for the cave’s walls and she summons every bit of magic inside herself, imploring the Harun-El.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Please, I beg you..... Please. Please help us…. Protect my daughter. Keep her safe. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The Harun-El rises to the surface, called to her hand. Instead of the slow viscous trickling of the harvest, the Harun-El surges underneath the ice in a resonating rumble, its multitude of colors glinting darkly as it laps just beneath the surface, awaiting Fjellregn’s command.</p><p>She sighs in relief, and turns to Lena. The little girl looks up at her, glass-green eyes wide and unblinking. Fjellregn smiles sweetly at her daughter. Lena, the light of her life, who loves and trusts her without a qualm.</p><p>Muffled shouts and curses reach Fjellregn’s ears through the sharp wind. The soldiers are close, too close. They will find her.</p><p>There is only one thing she can do.</p><p>“I love you so much, my darling.” Fjellregn cups her daughter’s face with a near-frozen hand, gently stroking her round little cheeks. She presses a soft kiss to each cheek, feeling as if her heart is ripping in two. “You must be brave now, little one.”</p><p>Lena’s eyes are confused. “Mama?”</p><p>Fjellregn’s hand touches the walls once more, and the ice breaks with a resounding crack that shakes the earth, the Harun-El spilling out and pooling on the floor behind them. As she watches, it forms a very familiar shape. Ink-black hands reach out for Lena. </p><p>Fjellregn nods, and with more strength than she has ever needed in her life, she extends her arms and lets go of her daughter.</p><p>“Mama?!” Lena’s tiny voice is high with panic and confusion as she leaves her mother’s warmth. “Mama! No! Where are you going?! Mama, don’t leave me!”</p><p>“I love you, my Lena.” Fjellregn whispers brokenly as slender arms engulf Lena and one glinting black hand presses gently over the little girl's lips to muffle her cries. "I love you."</p><p>The Harun-El, which has assumed Fjellregn’s shape and image, gently rocks the struggling child. Its ink-black visage glints with its many iridescent colors, shifting and sparkling, as it wraps its arms around her daughter.</p><p>Lena keeps struggling, her eyes round and filled with tears, and Fjellregn has to tear her own gaze away or she will never be able to do what she must. “I’m sorry, my darling. I’m so sorry.”</p><p>Fjellregn summons every inch of her will to climb back out into the night. Lena’s cries are muffled by the Harun-El and lost in the depths of the cave. </p><p>As she emerges from the mouth of the cave, she steels herself and unclasps her cloak. Her whole body shudders in the cold and merciless wind, but she is undeterred. She bundles the cloak in her arms in a shape that resembles a child, covering her tracks along the way.  Then she sets another trail for the soldiers of Árnadalr to follow.</p><p>As far away from Lena as she can get them.</p><p>The whole world is white with snow and the wind whips ruthlessly at her face -- and even with her intimate knowledge of the mountain, it’s almost impossible now to know where she is. She follows the path as closely as she can, knowing that the ravine is nearby and that she can avoid it and a fall to certain death only if she stays on the path. </p><p>Now if she can only hold on long enough to lead the soldiers away from the cave before she freezes to death…</p><p>
  <em> “There!” </em>
</p><p>She hears the shout behind her, and it makes her heart leap into her throat. She tightens her arms around her makeshift bundle and climbs faster. Farther, as far away from the caves as possible.</p><p>“Fjellregn!”</p><p>She almost freezes at the sound of that voice. A voice she once loved and held close to her heart. A voice that once promised her a love as warm as the summer. Now it freezes her heart more effectively than the ice and snow. Fjellregn climbs faster, running as fast as the snowdrifts will allow.</p><p>
  <em> “Fjellregn!” </em>
</p><p>A sob claws its way out of her throat, and she screws her eyes shut for a second, panic surging through her frozen veins. Where can she go? Run, run as far away from the caves as she can. As far away from that voice as her numb feet will take her.</p><p>She can’t see anything through the snow and the lashing wind, all she knows is she must go forward. She can hear him behind her now, his breath as close as it once was on the cold nights when she shared the warmth of her bed with him. She whips around and sees his face.</p><p>Lionel Luthor. The King of Árnadalr.</p><p>The man who strikes fear in the hearts of so many, even those beyond his kingdom. The man who holds so many lives in his powerful hands… And yet all Fjellregn sees is the face of the man who stole her heart and took it with him to the lowlands, leaving her empty and broken on the mountain. </p><p>Until Lena came along.</p><p>
  <em>Lena…</em>
</p><p>She wrenches away from him with a violent cry and runs, plowing forward, unseeing.</p><p>“Fjellregn, stop…” Lionel’s voice is soft, pleading. She doesn’t listen, merely climbs on. She can’t see anything, she can’t see. The cloak drops from her arms, but she keeps running farther, farther away from him, putting one foot in front of the other blindly, until her foot <b> <em>slips</em> </b>--</p><p> </p><p>
  <b> <em>“FJELLREGN!!!”</em> </b>
</p><p> </p><p>In the caves, Lena hears her mother’s scream from a distance. The shrill, high sound is followed by someone desperately shouting her name, and the little girl screams as well into an ink-black hand. The Harun-El, shaped like her mother, tightens its dark arms around her, and the little girl sobs her terror and confusion into its marble-like surface.</p><p>The Harun-El doesn’t speak -- of course it doesn’t, it’s not human, Lena knows -- but its strange glinting form thrums under her hand, and if Lena listens closely enough, she hears the soft humming sound she’d heard when she first called it with her mother, more of a resonance under her small body than an actual sound. </p><p>And when she listens closer, she realizes it’s humming the lullabye her mother had sung to her.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Within the mountain, dark and deep, </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Flows a river full of memory. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Hush, my darling, safe and sound, </em>
</p><p>
  <em> For in this river, all is found. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Lena doesn’t hear the words, because the Harun-El has no voice. But she <em>knows</em>. She sobs harder, her muffled hiccuping whimpers echoing in the icy cavern. “Mama… Mama… Mama...”</p><p>Black arms tighten around her, holding her close to its slightly-glowing chest. Lena doesn’t know how long she stays there, crying in an icy cave with the inhuman visage of her mother, but all of a sudden, the Harun-El starts quivering, its iridescent surface glowing ominously.</p><p>“What is it?”</p><p>Lena’s sobs stop and she looks up. The Harun-El sets her gently down on the cave floor. It turns its blind face toward the mouth of the cave, its outline pulsating in agitation. Lena scrambles to her feet, wiping her face on her sleeve. The Harun-El pushes her back and the little girl peers out anxiously from behind its thrumming form.</p><p>The dark night outside the cave begins to glow with a sickly green light, and the Harun-El’s pulsating form begins to lose its solid presence. The thrumming becomes an oscillation and the humming turns into an almost-scream. As a horrified Lena watches, her mother’s black form begins to lose its curves and edges, like butter quickly melting. </p><p>“No!!” The Harun-El twitches spasmodically, doubling over on the ground. Lena tries to hold onto it, but instead of the polished gemstone surface of before, the Harun-El is almost liquid now. "What’s happening?!"</p><p>At the sound of Lena’s frightened cries, the Harun-El seems to muster the last of its solid form and lurches upward in an attempt to shield the terrified child.</p><p>The green glow outside intensifies until it’s almost blinding. Lena can feel the heat of it, burning and eating away at her skin, hotter and hotter. The Harun-El can’t stand against it, and it collapses into the floor pooling around Lena just as a blast of green fills the cave, making the walls shake and burying Lena in snow.</p><p>Then everything goes black.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Zora (Part I)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A ball at the palace. A pair of gloves. Visitors from a foreign land. A midnight feast. A terrible dinner. A new friend. And a little girl just trying to survive it all.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Pardon the inaccuracies, I don't know anything.</p>
<p>TW for abuse.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p>
<hr/>
<p>The sheer amount of noise in the ballroom is enough to make Lena uncomfortable. The sounds of glasses clinking together. The deep vibrations of the music playing in the background. The heavy drone of conversation, interspersed with high false laughter grates on Lena's eardrums. </p>
<p>And the smells. The heavy perfume suffocating her whenever someone approaches her mother to curtsy and deliver simpering air-kisses. The cloying scents wash over her whenever one of the ladies bends over her to coo and pat her cheek.</p>
<p>"Your Highness, how lovely you are tonight!"</p>
<p>"How lucky we are to have such a charming little Princess. She truly is a beauty, Your Majesty."</p>
<p>"And so well-behaved."</p>
<p>The men's voices are less strident and less blatant, but their words are no less condescending. They preen like peacocks, their voices loud and gruff in her ears.</p>
<p>"Pretty little thing, isn't she?"</p>
<p>"Quite a catch. She'll make a nice bride for you, my boy."</p>
<p>Lena wants to put her hands over her ears so she can block out their voices, but she knows that will earn her a none too gentle slap on the wrist from Lillian. So she twists her hands together behind her back, clasps them together in the prim way Lillian taught her.</p>
<p>The whispers are less audible, but each one stabs at Lena like a knife.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Heard she was Lionel's bastard."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "I heard she was from the mountain. You know how uncouth and uncultured those savages were." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "Freaks, is what they were." </em>
</p>
<p>Her face burns. The Lena of a few years ago would have loved nothing more than to scream at them. But she has long since learned that yelling and screaming would achieve nothing and reap her nothing but severe punishment at Lillian's hand later. </p>
<p>Five years of living with the Luthors has taught her many things. Chief of which is that she is, first and foremost, a possession of the House of Luthor. She is the Princess of Árnadalr, and to dishonor her house or her father's name in any way would be the worst sin someone like Lena could commit.</p>
<p>Instead, she smiles the way Lillian taught her. Gracious and poised -- not too warm, <em> "You are the Princess, these people are not your peers, Lena; you do not owe them your concern" </em> ; but not too detached <em> "they will think you are cold, and we wouldn't want that, would we?" </em> . Lillian always got a strange look on her face whenever she said that, and her hard gaze would always migrate to Lena's hands. And Lena would hide them behind her back so her mother wouldn't have to see them. <em> "No, Mother" </em>.</p>
<p>Malicious laughter breaks Lena out of her reverie, and she turns to the group trying to hide their conversation behind cupped hands and silk fans.</p>
<p>
  <em> "Barbarians, those mountain people. And she was one of them." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "The shame!"  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "The scandal!" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "Not only is she a little bastard, she's one of those savages too." </em>
</p>
<p>Beneath her smile, Lena's blood runs cold. She tries very hard to block the voices out, the way she's had to all these years, but tonight has taken its toll. </p>
<p>A light layer of frost begins to creep up her hands, starting from her fingertips to her palms. Panic spreads just as fast inside Lena. Lillian's low, dangerous voice echoes in her ear <em> "Conceal it, Lena. No one can ever know". </em></p>
<p>She takes a deep breath and brings her hands in front of her to hide the thin layer of crackling silver frost on her palms. It doesn't help. In fact, it just makes it worse. The ice makes its way up to her wrists, and her fingers have become glacial. Frantic, Lena hides her hands in the folds of her skirt.</p>
<p>The air around her becomes colder and the temperature of the room drops subtly. Those nearest to Lena whisper curiously as the wine in their glasses begins to freeze.</p>
<p>Lillian, who misses nothing, feels the telltale chill and sees the panicked face of the young girl. Her eyes harden and her glare becomes sharp enough to cut. Lena's breathing quickens, and the ice creeps faster. Her forearms are white with frost now. The ice creeps over the blue fabric of her skirt.</p>
<p>
  <em> "She's an embarrassment to the royal family. Imagine, a mountain girl as a Princess of Árnadalr." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "I heard they mated with animals in the mountains." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "I heard they worshipped the devil." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "Pagan inbreds. Who knows what atrocities they did in those mountains. They got what they deserved." </em>
</p>
<p>She can't take it anymore. Lena abruptly turns on her heel and flees the crowd. Heads turn toward her, and she knows she's making a scene, and she knows she will pay for it later. But right now, her only thought is escape. She rushes through the gigantic double doors, and runs up the ornate grand staircase as fast as her feet will take her.</p>
<p>Lillian will kill her, not just for running in the halls or fleeing the party, but most of all, for daring to let her control slip that far. Anyone could have seen her hands, could have seen the ice that had inexplicably appeared on her arms. She could have brought down the Luthor name with her appalling lack of control, her weakness. Her father would have been shamed, disgraced in the people's eyes. </p>
<p>The great House of Luthor, built over centuries, brought down by a weak, simple-minded little girl.</p>
<p>Lena finds her escape only in her room. Once the door shuts, she thumps against it, sliding down to the floor, covering her face in her hands. She wills herself to stop trembling, but she can't. Her thin arms are still covered in ice, the crackling of the frost that had once felt friendly and light on her skin when she was younger now makes her shudder, as if a million ants are crawling over her.</p>
<p>Her room is the one place in the palace that not even Lillian invades. She can't stand looking at the patches of ice that have coated parts of the room, solidly frozen even with the roaring fire on one end of the room. To Lillian, these little frozen corners are evidence of Lena's weakness, her lack of discipline.</p>
<p>Lena doesn't look at them too much. If she's truthful with herself, they scare her a little. These little islands of ice are pieces of the unknown. She knows she caused them, and that they are like small fractured pieces of the rising cold that has been fighting its way out of her since Lillian first punished her for freezing the fountain in the courtyard. </p>
<p>Restraint was never part of her early childhood. The early years of her life are both a distant memory and a vivid breathing thing that exists inside of her. In all her years in the mountain, everyone around her had encouraged her to grow. The things she could do, the sparkling, crackling cold ice that lived inside her had been nourished by all. It had been a gift once.</p>
<p>Yet from the moment Lena had first woken in up in her bed in the palace, ten days after that fateful night in the caves, it was made very clear to her that nothing of her old world could serve a purpose in her new one. Anything that indicated that Lena even had a life before she came to the Luthors was to be forgotten and hidden away like a shameful secret behind silk dresses, ruffled petticoats and heavy doors.</p>
<p>The Lena who used to run barefoot into snow drifts began to disappear when she was first presented to the imposing man and the forbidding woman in the throne room whom she would have to call Father and Mother from that moment on. The Lena who used to climb trees learned to walk slowly and gracefully with books piled atop her head when Lillian prodded her spine with a walking stick<em> "Stand up straight, Lena. Luthors don’t slouch." </em></p>
<p>The Lena who used to splash water into the air and freeze it into all sorts of delightful shapes for her mother's amusement died completely when she made the water in the courtyard fountain soar into fantastical shapes and Lillian hadn't laughed -- instead, Lillian had hauled her by the arm into the palace and locked her in the closet in her room without meals for two days. </p>
<p>The Lena who used to ask Myriah all the questions that swirled in her quick mind stopped asking questions the one and only time she had asked her father what happened to her mother and her little mountain village -- and she had been met with her father’s left hand digging into her upper arm while his right struck her across the face, his liquor-laced breath washing over her as she whimpered on the floor, cradling her cheek in her palm.</p>
<p>Of course, not all pieces of her past life could be completely eradicated. </p>
<p>The cold that has lived inside her from the moment of her birth -- the fractals of ice that once shimmered and played within her like friendly little snowflakes -- is now something to be feared. A churning, shifting and <em> growing </em> thing that she doesn’t understand. Something that grows just as Lena does over the years, but unlike Lena, it cannot be contained. It is a wild thing inside her, something as cold and powerful as the mountain itself, and it does not recognize the rules that the Luthors seek to impose upon it.</p>
<p>She’s scared of it, this cold growing inside her. She’s scared of what it can do. Because Lena is bound by the Luthor name and all that it entails, and it is not. And if she cannot keep it contained, she will be the one to suffer the consequences.</p>
<p>A knock on her door breaks the silence, and Lena jumps. If Lillian sees her like this -- slumped on the floor, tears streaking her face, her dress irretrievably wrinkled, and her arms white with frost -- there will be hell to pay.</p>
<p>"It's me." A voice whispers through the door, and Lena sighs in relief. Lex. "Let me in."</p>
<p>She stumbles awkwardly to her feet, pulling the door open to find her big brother smiling wryly at her. Lex takes stock of the mess that is Lena, and shakes his head.</p>
<p>For a moment, Lex looks as if he wants to hug her, but he restrains himself. Neither of them are familiar with physical affection. Lena may have been once, but the memory of her mother's warm embraces are blurry now with little experience to refresh them. The only people who touch her are the maids who come help her dress, and they do so with fearful, impersonal hands, wary of Lillian's ever-watchful eye.</p>
<p>Lena opens the door wider for her brother with a small sniffle. Lex strides in, eyeing the frozen patches of white littering Lena's room with a strange look on his face, but his expression softens when he looks at her.</p>
<p>"Here... I have something for you." Lex approaches her with a lopsided smile, the one that always makes Lena feel just a little bit better. "Close your eyes, and hold out your hand."</p>
<p>Lena obeys, and feels something soft being pressed into her hand. When she opens it, she finds herself holding a pair of silk gloves. They're exquisitely stitched with the ornate Luthor crest sewn onto the fabric. "It's to hide it. Your powers."</p>
<p>There’s a flatness in his eyes that Lena doesn’t understand, but when she looks up at him, Lex's smile softens into something almost fond. He takes the gloves from her and starts tugging them gently over little fingers coated with frost. He makes sure that the gloves cover her hands completely before fastening the tiny pearl buttons at the hem.</p>
<p>"Conceal it. Don't feel it."</p>
<p>He inspects the gloves for a moment before looking back up at her with that lopsided grin. His eyes, however, are tired, almost lifeless. There's not much humor in his smile.  "That's the way it is in this family, Lena."</p>
<p>He reaches out to ruffle her hair in an uncharacteristically tender move, and Lena looks up at him, grateful for the attention from the big brother she looks up to. She clasps her hands -- and the gloves -- to her chest.</p>
<p>"Thank you, Lex," she sniffs and gives him a watery smile.</p>
<p>"Of course, little sister." Lex retracts his hand and puts it in his pocket, but the lopsided smile remains. "Just don't let the others see it, yeah?" He nods at her ice-covered hands now hidden by the gloves.</p>
<p>"Those people out there, they're fools. They wouldn't understand." His face becomes more grave, and he seems to retreat inside himself for a moment. "You and I, baby sister, we're not like them. We're burdened with excellence. In different ways, perhaps. But we're the same... We're Luthors."</p>
<p>Lena waits for him to elaborate, but he doesn't say anything more. Instead, he shoots her one last conspiratorial grin and leaves her room, closing the door behind him.</p>
<p>And Lena is left alone again.</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>The next day sees Lena in Lillian's study, reciting Latin phrases to her tutor, while Lillian finishes correspondences on her desk.</p>
<p>Lena sneaks longing glances out the window when the tutor's back is turned. It had snowed late last night -- what Lena can feel is the last hurrah of this winter before it starts thawing to make way for spring -- and now piles of snow cover the courtyard, turning it into a magical landscape that Lena could stare at forever.</p>
<p>Further beyond the palace gates, she can <em> just </em> see the snow blanketing the rest of Árnadalr. She can't hear them, but she sees the town bustling with activity. It had stopped snowing a few hours ago, and now people are once again out and about. She imagines many of them will be out shoveling the snow from their doors, the children playing in the snow, sledding down little white hills.</p>
<p>Lena wishes she could be outside too. She wishes she could play in the snow with the other children, just like she used to -- run barefoot into the snowdrifts, lie on the ground and make snow angels, have snowball fights, make little animals out of snow and have her playmates chase them, just like she did before with her friends in the village. </p>
<p>Of course, Lena will never be allowed outside the gates to play with commoners, but if she could at least go just to see the townspeople, perhaps watch them enjoying the wonderland left behind by the snow, that might be nice. </p>
<p>Lena knows well enough not to even vocalize this wish, of course, knowing it will be met with nothing but a cold glare and derision. And after last night’s debacle, it’s best just to keep her mouth shut and not let anyone see her looking out the window.</p>
<p>"Your Highness."</p>
<p>The tutor, a kindly if positively ancient scholar, coughs, pulling Lena out of her reverie. Lena's attention snaps back to him. "I'm sorry, what was your question, <em> magister </em>?"</p>
<p>The tutor clears his throat, and glances nervously at Lillian, whose head has whipped up to glare icily at both Lena and her tutor. "I asked you to please translate the second paragraph."</p>
<p>Lena nods, and scans the paragraph in question. She obediently repeats the translation flawlessly to him, sparing herself any admonition from Lillian.</p>
<p>She's halfway through the paragraph when a knock interrupts them. Lillian barely glances up from her work as she drawls "Enter."</p>
<p>"The King requests your presence in his study, Your Majesty. The scholars from Krypton have arrived."</p>
<p>Lillian sighs in irritation, but she drops her quill and sets aside her letter. She spares Lena a short glance before sweeping toward the door. "Continue."</p>
<p>Lena complies without skipping a beat, and the lesson drones on. When her studies are concluded and she is finally released, she slips out from Lillian’s study and into the hallway. </p>
<p>She’s hungry. She’s been banned from meals as punishment for fleeing the party last night, but if she’s careful, she can sneak something from the kitchens to her room. She heads to the west wing where the kitchens are, deliberately taking the long way so she can pass by her Father's study in order to get a glimpse of these scholars from Krypton that the servant had mentioned.</p>
<p>They are unexpected visitors. To her, at least. Though their arrival certainly didn't seem to come as a surprise to Lillian. </p>
<p>Lena doesn't know much about Krypton, except what she's learned from her studies. She knows it's a fairly large city across the sea, and that travel to that place is long and difficult. She knows that Krypton is known for its advances in science and industry. But Árnadalr is no sloth when it comes to such advances either. What can these Kryptonian visitors possibly contribute to Árnadalr that the scholars here cannot?</p>
<p>She hears the voices from within the study cease their conversation, and the movement of furniture inside tells her that her parents and these visitors are coming out of the room. Right into the hallway where Lena could be perceived by Lillian to be loitering aimlessly.</p>
<p>She's scurrying down the hallway when the door opens and the room's occupants come out. Lionel is the first to spot her. "Lena!"</p>
<p>Lena winces inwardly, irritated at herself for not being fast enough to flee. Lionel beckons her over with an imperious hand. "Come, I would like for you to meet our foreign visitors."</p>
<p>Lena has no choice but to obey her father's command. She squares her shoulders and walks slowly to her father's side. Lillian gives her a quick, imposing glare, before turning back to their guests.</p>
<p>"My son, Alexander, is at the Scholastic Academy this morning. This is my only daughter, Lena, Princess of Árnadalr." Lionel claps a hand on Lena's shoulder, in a gesture that is meant to seem fatherly. This is Lena's cue to smile as she usually does. Not too wide, these are only visitors after all; but not too small as to be offensive. She inclines her head graciously at their guests.</p>
<p>"This is Raozhium Zor El, Chief Scholar of the Kryptonian Science Guild. And his wife, Zyvium Alura El, a judicator from Krypton's Lawmaker Guild." Lionel gestures toward a tall, stately man and a rather lovely woman beside him. Both smile warmly at Lena. "They will be staying with us here in the palace, while they assist the Árnadalrian scholars on a new project. Scholar J’onnz tells me they’re the best in their field.</p>
<p>"And this is their daughter, Zora." Lionel adds as an afterthought, gesturing toward the young girl that Lena has just now noticed standing slightly behind her mother. She looks to be about Lena's age, perhaps a little older. She's tall like her father, but where her father is statuesque, this girl is gangly, with the knobby knees and elbows that come with childhood.</p>
<p>The girl, Zora, smiles at Lena. Her eyes are a brilliant blue, sparkling as a cheery grin spreads across her face. She bounces a little on the balls of her feet, wheat-gold curls bouncing along with her, and gives Lena a little wave that Lillian barely hides her derision at.</p>
<p>"Hi!" Zora grins, all teeth, before she seems to remember who she's addressing. A reminder helped along perhaps by Lillian's severe glare. "I mean, it's nice to meet you, Your Highness."</p>
<p>Her grin is infectious, but Lillian's cold demeanor prevents Lena from returning it with the same enthusiasm. "How do you do? I hope your journey here wasn't too difficult."</p>
<p>"It was a rather tiring trip, but thank heavens we arrived safely." It's Alura who answers her, but Zora keeps smiling at Lena from behind her mother. The other girl looks at her with wide, inquisitive eyes. Lena tries not to stare back. "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness."</p>
<p>"I expect you'll want to rest after your journey. Your quarters have been made ready" Lillian interrupts smoothly. Lena knows she couldn't care any less about their guests' well-being. Most likely, she just wants to get them out of her hair.</p>
<p>Several servants are ordered to escort the family to their quarters, but just before she disappears down the hallway, the girl, Zora, turns and gives Lena one last small wave.</p>
<p>Lena almost waves back, but stops under Lillian's withering glare. "Back to your studies, Lena."</p>
<p>"Yes, Mother."</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>It's the middle of the night, and Lena can't sleep. </p>
<p>Her stomach keeps grumbling. She's too hungry. She's gone longer without food before, thanks to Lillian's punishments, but she hadn't eaten much during the party last night, and now her stomach has been empty for more than a day.</p>
<p>She used to keep a small stash of food in one of her drawers, but one of the maids had found it, and out of fear, had divulged it to Lillian. Her mother had been furious, and that was one of the few times she had struck Lena. Lillian rarely got physical with her, since she preferred not to touch Lena at all, but she had other ways to keep Lena in line.</p>
<p>
  <em> "I'm trying to teach you a lesson, Lena. Can't you see that I am trying to do what's best for you? I am trying to train the mountain out of you, but you keep making it difficult. You are no longer a wildling gallivanting among the trees and unwashed animals. You are the Princess of Árnadalr, and you must behave in a manner befitting the House of Luthor. Until you learn your lesson, there will be no more meals for you." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "Yes, Mother." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "….And Lena?" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "Yes, Mother?" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "If you attempt to hide something like this from me again, you will be sure to regret it."<br/></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "….Yes, Mother." </em>
</p>
<p>And so Lena had emptied her secret stash, out of fear of what Lillian might do. But if she's truthful with herself, a small part of her still remembers Lillian's words<em> "Can't you see that I am trying to do what's best for you?" </em>, still remembers the feeling of rising hope. The hope that her stepmother cares for her in some capacity, and the possibility that one day, if she proves herself worthy enough, this concern might evolve into love.</p>
<p>Tonight, however, the absence of her stash of food is sorely felt, and the hunger pangs propel Lena out of bed. She opens her bedroom door, careful to avoid it creaking, and slips out silently. Her bare feet make no sound on the plush carpet as she makes her way to the kitchens.</p>
<p>The cooks always keep some food in the enormous icebox in the kitchen, and Lena heads straight for it. She picks out a few things -- some bread, a couple of meat pies, a few pieces of fruit. Not enough to make anyone suspicious, and nothing that Lillian would later be able to find. </p>
<p>Just before she closes the door, she spots a small bowl of melting custard. She loves custard, and the bowl sits there innocently, tempting Lena. Does she dare?</p>
<p>With a guilty sense of mischief, Lena reaches into the icebox to grab the bowl. Surely no one would miss this. As silently as she dares, she retrieves a spoon and blows lightly on the custard, stirring in the tiny ice crystals as she goes.  The custard freezes slowly as she blows on it, and Lena happily digs into the treat with her spoon.</p>
<p>"Whoa! Is that frozen custard??!"</p>
<p>Lena jumps and almost drops the bowl onto the floor at the sound of the voice from the doorway. She misses the spoon, however, and it falls out of her hand. The Kryptonian girl, Zora, who had been standing near the door, lunges forward and catches the spoon before it can drop to the floor.</p>
<p>Both girls breathe a sigh of relief, and the other girl straightens up, handing the spoon to Lena.</p>
<p>"It <em>is</em> frozen custard!" Zora whispers excitedly as she stares at the treat in Lena's hands, her blue eyes wide. "We <em> never </em> get frozen custard at home. It always melts, even in the icebox."</p>
<p>Lena nervously searches for a sign indicating that Zora had seen Lena using her powers, but sees nothing. Zora just looks longingly at Lena's bowl, like a puppy begging for a treat, and despite the gnawing in her stomach, Lena finds it hard to refuse such a look. She offers a spoon to the other girl. "Would you like some?"</p>
<p>"Would I?!" Zora exclaims in a loud whisper as she hurriedly takes the spoon from Lena and digs into the bowl. A little surprised, Lena watches as the other girl shovels a spoonful of custard into her mouth. She hums appreciatively as she savors the frozen treat. Lena chuckles a little at her enthusiasm, and the other girl looks back at her, pink-faced, as if remembering that she's in the presence of the Princess.</p>
<p>"Sorry, Your Highness." Zora mumbles, cheeks still pink. She holds the bowl out to Lena. "We can share it?"</p>
<p>Lena brightens, and shyly accepts the spoon. She rarely gets to be around children her age. Aside from Lex, the only other children in the palace are the servants' children, and Lena was never allowed to speak to them, let alone play with them. </p>
<p>The one time she had played dolls with the gardener's daughter, Lillian had caught them and Lena had been locked in her closet for the rest of the evening. The next morning, she'd found out that the gardener had been let go, his family driven out of town, and all their possessions seized. </p>
<p>All because Lena had played with his daughter.</p>
<p>She doesn't quite know what to say to this other girl. She is a guest in the palace after all, and it will seem rude if she doesn't speak to her. Zora seems friendly enough, but still alien to Lena, and she doesn't want to do or say anything that might break this delicate companionship between them. Zora's stopped eating, and Lena realizes she's waiting for her to start, so she scoops a tiny bit of the custard out with the spoon and into her mouth, before holding it back out to Zora.</p>
<p>“There’s nobody else here." Lena murmurs, tucking a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. "You can call me Lena.”</p>
<p>Zora looks up from the bowl, spoon still stuck in her mouth. "But, you're duh prinshesh."</p>
<p>Lena suppresses a smile at the other girl's antics. "I don't mind. I won't tell if you don't."</p>
<p>"Really?" Zora's face breaks out into a wide grin, her eyes crinkling in delight. "Well, if I'm calling you Lena..."</p>
<p>"Zora it is, then." Lena returns the smile shyly. With the two girls passing the spoon back and forth, the custard quickly disappears, Zora licking the last spoonful with such relish, Lena wouldn't be surprised if she tried to lick the bowl. "What are you doing in the kitchen in the middle of the night, Zora?"</p>
<p>Zora shrugs, setting the bowl on the kitchen counter. "I was hungry. I'm always hungry. My father says it's because I use up enough energy to power the sun. Back home, my mother always leaves something in the icebox for me to snack on when I wake up hungry in the middle of the night. What about you? Why are you here?"</p>
<p>Lena bites her lip, unsure what to say. If she says she was punished, will Zora think she's bad and not want to be her friend? Lena doesn't want that. She doesn't have any friends besides Lex, and he's always either with Father or in his study. Having a friend all her own would be the <em> loveliest </em> thing. "I.... I was hungry too."</p>
<p>She looks down at the food in her hands, then back up at Zora, chewing her lip hesitantly. "Would you like to eat this food with me? We can share it."</p>
<p>Zora's grin returns in full force, lighting up her face. She nods vigorously and reaches for one of the meat pies, but Lena shakes her head. "Not here. The cooks always have an early start. They might catch us in here. Let's go up to the drawing room."</p>
<p>"Okay!" Zora agrees in a loud whisper, gathering up their provisions and trotting after Lena. The two girls sneak up the grand staircase as quietly as they can, with Lena leading the way. She pushes open the door to the drawing room carefully to avoid making noise. This room is closest to Lena's, so it will be easier to sneak back in when they're done, and easier to clean up any mess they leave behind. She's not brave enough, nor foolish enough to take Zora into her own room where anyone can plainly see the patches of ice dotting various surfaces.</p>
<p>Once they're safely inside with the door secured, both girls dive into their small food pile. Zora hums appreciatively as she scarfs down the food, while Lena eats at a more sedate pace. She may be hungry, but Lillian's lessons on proper dining etiquette have been drilled into her since the age of five, and even now, whenever she reaches a little too enthusiastically for any item of food, she expects to feel the sting of Lillian's fan snapping on her wrist.</p>
<p>While they eat, Lena discovers that Zora likes to talk. She talks about Krypton, and her parents, and her aunts and uncle and her cousin, Kal. She tells Lena about her studies, and how she plans to join the Science Guild with her father one day. She makes Lena giggle when she tells her about time her best friend once dared her to eat a worm.</p>
<p>Lena listens to all her stories delightedly. Sometimes she feels so lonely inside the palace, as if she's cut off from the rest of the world. She knows -- Lillian has told her time and time again, so has Lex, and even Father when he deigns to spend any time with her -- she knows that she is not like the rest of the world outside. She is a Luthor, and that somehow means that she must be kept apart from everyone else. She had learned that lesson well with the gardener's daughter.</p>
<p>And when she does go outside, most people bow or curtsy, but few ever look her in the eye. The other children all stare at her, but do so behind their mother's skirts, and are kept mum by a stern look from the parents, or by the cold severity of Lillian's demeanor.</p>
<p>This is different, though. </p>
<p>In the dark coziness of the drawing room, lit only by the dim light of the moon -- with no one around them to shush Zora or forbid Lena from talking to her -- Lena warms quickly.</p>
<p>Unlike Zora, she has no anecdotes of friendship or family that she can share, but she tells Zora about all her favorite books, pointing each one out on the shelves, and regaling Zora with the tales hidden behind each spine. This one the story of a princess who pretends to be a knight and goes into battle to save her kingdom. That one a tale of mystery involving pirates and the sirens who lured them deep into the sea. That one detailing the adventures of a family of acrobats living at the top of a tall tower. </p>
<p>"Tell me more! Please?"</p>
<p>Zora listens to her with a fascinated look on her face, her blue eyes holding a look of wonder and enchantment that makes Lena's heart soar. She's never had anyone look at her like that before, and it makes her giddy. It makes her pull down one of the books from the shelf so she can show Zora the beautiful illustrations. Soon, the two of them are huddled together on the window seat, Lena reading to Zora in a hushed whisper by the light of the moon.</p>
<p>“....And they lived happily ever after.”</p>
<p>"That was amazing!" Zora exclaims in a loud whisper as Lena closes the book when they’re finished. "Let's do another one!"</p>
<p>Lena is about to say yes to please the other girl, but she notices that the sky is beginning to lighten, and she knows Lillian will wake soon. "Tonight. After my studies. We can come here again, and we can read a new book."</p>
<p>"And will you tell me more stories?" Zora asks sweetly.</p>
<p>Lena feels her cheeks turn pink, but she smiles and nods shyly. "Of course!"</p>
<p>"Okay!" Zora jumps up and begins gathering their things. Just before she goes to the door, she turns to Lena with a wide grin. Without warning, Zora leans over and throws her arms around Lena's neck. Lena is too surprised to do anything, and for a moment, she's unsure what's going on or what to do with her own arms, but Zora doesn't seem to notice. She lets go, her bright grin still in place. </p>
<p>"Thank you for tonight, Lena. I'll see you later! I can’t wait!"</p>
<p>With that, Zora flounces off, golden curls bouncing on her shoulders as she disappears through the doorway. And Lena is left alone again, but this time, there is a sweet smile on her face that stays there for a long time.</p>
<p>The smile stays on her face even as she crawls into her bed to get what little sleep she can. She smiles even when one of the maids pulls the curtains apart to let the blinding sunlight in, still smiles as she patiently lets the maids dress her and fuss over her hair. The smile persists even through the interminable droning of her Latin tutor, and her history tutor, and her geography tutor, and her French tutor. She struggles to contain the smile as Lillian herself tutors her in the sciences, and she has to look down at her book to hide it from her mother. </p>
<p>She feels lighter today, even though she spent the whole night awake, even though the midnight feast she had shared with Zora wasn’t enough to fill her growling stomach. She doesn't feel as lonely or tense, even when Lillian prods her on the back to remind her to straighten up.</p>
<p>Zora had embraced her! Lena thinks that means they're friends….. doesn't it? And Zora had said she couldn't wait to see Lena later again tonight! Lena can't wait either. She feels giddy and floaty, like she's walking on air.</p>
<p>Lillian informs her during their afternoon lessons that her punishment has been lifted. Lena will be allowed to eat dinner with her family tonight. "Your Father wants us all to dine with our guests tonight."</p>
<p>Some of the joy leeches out of Lena, and she turns to Lillian, her fingers tightening around her book. "You mean the Els?"</p>
<p>Lillian gives her a mocking look. "Do we currently have any other guests here?"</p>
<p>"No, Mother."</p>
<p>Lena looks down to avoid provoking any further derision. She knows better than to rise to the bait. She focuses on her studies, but the giddiness of this morning has receded somewhat, and her light mood has just become a little bit heavier.</p>
<p>While she would love to spend time with Zora, the prospect of her family being present as well is daunting. Lena cannot be as free as she would like to be with Lillian watching her every move from one end of the table and Lionel from the other.</p>
<p>Lena can't help but pout a little bit. She wants Zora to herself, selfish girl that she is. She wants it to be just the two of them, like it was last night, with Zora speaking to her in that sweet, bright voice, and listening to her with that enchanted look on her face. With the rest of her family present, and the Els as well, there will be none of that.</p>
<p>Her heavy mood persists through the rest of the afternoon, and Lillian, omniscient as she is, notices the dimming of her mood despite Lena's attempts to hide it. Just before she exits Lillian's study to dress for dinner, Lillian stops her with a hand on the door knob.</p>
<p>"Wipe that frown from your face, young lady. We have guests tonight - important guests - and I will not have you upsetting them or your Father with your sulking."</p>
<p>Lena nods, not quite meeting her mother's eye. "Yes, Mother."</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>Dinner is every bit as excruciating as Lena had expected.</p>
<p>Zora and her parents enter the large dining room with warm smiles, and Zora's immediately catches Lena's eye. Her grin widens and she gives Lena a little wave. With Lillian watching like a hawk, Lena can only give her a small smile in return, keeping her hands primly folded before her.</p>
<p>The torment doesn't begin immediately.</p>
<p>Once Lionel sits down and the rest of them are seated, talk turns to the Els' work with the Árnadalrian scientists. Lex, the Crown Prince and a junior member of the Árnadalr's Scholastic Academy, chimes in with his own ideas and opinions. Lionel watches with an amused smile on his face, knowing that Lex's aptitude for science will impress the Kryptonians. Lillian contributes her own experience as a scholar, speaking with all authority on the matter.</p>
<p>Lena is equally fascinated with science, and is curious about the Els' work with the Árnadalrian scholars. She hears snippets of the conversation across the large table, about something that the Kryptonians call 'radioactivity'. </p>
<p>
  <em> "The substance is naturally occuring in Krypton, and I've been studying it for years. We have only just begun to discover its qualities, and the possibilities are endless." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "Astounding. Have you tested its properties against Oanite and Cosmonite?" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "What did Scholar J'onnz say about the element? Did he think it's possible to isolate the element in its purest form? Imagine what it could do." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "We've found several forms of the substance all over different areas of Krypton, all with the same or very similar chemical makeup. It's curious, because each form causes very distinct chemical reactions..." </em>
</p>
<p>Lena listens to the conversation with rapt attention. All of the Els are actively involved in the conversation, even Zora, who contributes her own ideas and opinions. She contributes almost as much as Lex does to the conversation, and Lena can't help but stare at her with wide eyes. </p>
<p>She talks with such freedom and animation and vigor, her curls bouncing as she shifts around in her seat. Lillian watches with disdain from one end of the table as Zora wriggles around in excitement, talking rapidfire with her parents as if this is an everyday occurrence.</p>
<p>It's mind-boggling to Lena, who is never permitted to speak out of turn at the table,and certainly not with such enthusiasm. The more she listens to Zora talk without being interrupted, the braver she becomes.</p>
<p>Lena’s curiosity gets the better of her, and she speaks up in a small but clear voice. "What is this substance called?"</p>
<p>All at once, the conversation stops. Lillian's head whips up at the sound of Lena's voice, livid at Lena's audacity to speak at the dinner table. <em>"Lena!"</em></p>
<p>Zora's mother Alura speaks up first, giving Lena a warm smile. "It's alright. The element is called Kryptonite, and my husband has been studying it for the past ten years. I myself have a background in science, besides my work as a judicator, and I've been assisting him for years. This substance is fascinating, and I think it could be of great use to Krypton and Árnadalr."</p>
<p>Emboldened by Alura's encouraging response, Lena sits up a little taller, laying her knife and fork down in favor of participating in the conversation. Her curious nature overtakes her propriety. "You said it's naturally occuring in Krypton. Where did you find it? What conditions allow it to be produced? What are its chemical and physical properties? What -?"</p>
<p>"That's <b> <em>enough</em> </b> <em> , </em> Lena!" A fist bangs on the table, startling everyone and rattling the cups and plates in front of them. </p>
<p>This time, it's not Lillian who interrupts, but Lionel. Lena's head snaps toward him, and she sees that Lionel’s face is as dark as it has ever been. There is something violent and sinister in his eyes, and his mouth is set in a grim line that brooks no argument. His hands are balled into fists on the table, veins and tendons standing out in high relief. His shoulders are squared and tense, and he seems to fill the entire room with his dark presence.</p>
<p>This is the Lionel Luthor that strikes fear in the hearts of so many.</p>
<p>He scares Lena. It reminds her of the time he struck her for asking about her mother and her village. Out of reflex, Lena looks down. She avoids eye contact, and her shoulders curl in on themselves, as if she can make herself as small as possible to avoid notice.</p>
<p>The rest of the table becomes quiet, the conversation dying a quick and complete death. Lex, too, seems to shrink, and he turns to his plate, but leaves it untouched. He says no more, and his face is cold and emotionless. Lillian's attention is turned on Lena, her austere glare tells Lena that she blames her for this tension. She should have kept her mouth shut, she <em> knows </em> by now not to speak out of turn at the table. Stupid.</p>
<p>The Els are silent too. Both Alura and Zor El shift their glances between Lionel and Lena, but they dare not oppose the King at his table. They make no more attempts at conversation, and the meal progresses in deadly, tense silence.</p>
<p>As for Zora, Lena can't bear to meet her eye. She can't look up and see what Zora thinks of an insolent girl like Lena who brings the wrath of her Father down on the rest of her family. There's no way Zora will want to be her friend now. The thought fills Lena with shame and disappointment, and she has to bite her lip to keep from crying at the table. </p>
<p>She can feel tears stinging her eyes, but she struggles not to let them fall, knowing that will only anger Lionel further. He always says tears are a weakness, and the one time Lex had cried in front of him, he'd struck him so hard, he never did it again. Lena musters all her will to keep from crying and receiving the same fate.</p>
<p>Dinner ends when Lionel rises from his seat with one last dark glower at Lena, before inviting Raozhium Zor El to his study for a bottle of his finest liquor. Alura herds her daughter to their quarters after a polite, if stiff goodbye to Lillian. Alura bids Lena good night with a sympathetic smile, but Lena merely nods, her face feeling wooden and unmoving.</p>
<p>As soon as Alura is out of sight, Lillian orders Lex to his room and rounds on Lena. Lena quails at Lillian's anger. Her gloved hands begin to get cold, and frost creeps onto her palm. She frantically tries to hide them from Lillian to avoid making her angrier. </p>
<p>Lillian's fingers close over Lena's upper arm, and Lena knows how severe her mood is, because Lillian always  avoids touching her as much as she can.</p>
<p>"Insolent girl!” Lillian hauls her forward, Lena stumbling into her with the force of it. “Do you see what you've done?!"</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, Mother!" Lena cries, tears finally spilling from her eyes. "I'm sorry-!"</p>
<p>Lillian's fingers dig in deeper into the skin of Lena's arm. Her eyes are sharp and blazing, her voice low and dangerous. "I do my best to draw your Father's ire away from you, and yet you deliberately provoke him! Selfish, foolish child!"</p>
<p>
  <em> Bang! </em>
</p>
<p>The noise of the door swinging open and hitting the wall makes them both jump, and Lillian immediately lets go of Lena. Lena stumbles back as soon as she is released, rubbing her arm. Doubled over in the doorway is Zora. She's out of breath, as if she had run all the way back to the dining room. She straightens herself up, huffing. Lena turns away, avoiding her eyes.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, Your Majesty." Once she stops huffing, Zora's voice is strong and clear, and she doesn't sound very sorry at all. "I thought I dropped my... um... my ribbon during dinner."</p>
<p>Lillian's eyebrow rises in derision, in a look that usually has Lena shrinking. "Your ribbon?"</p>
<p>Zora fidgets under Lillian's glare, but she seems to marshal herself and nods. "I've lost it, and I wanted to see if it was here."</p>
<p>Lillian gives her a mocking look, and gestures toward the table. "By all means, search for your ribbon."</p>
<p>"Ummm..." The other girl approaches the table cautiously, and checks her seat. Lena watches her out of the corner of her eye. When Zora comes up with nothing, Lillian gives her a haughty glare. Zora laughs nervously, still fidgeting.</p>
<p>"I guess it wasn't there. Silly me, I must have dropped it in the hall on the way to our quarters! I'll - um, I'll just go and hunt for it then, ha...."</p>
<p>Zora trails off under Lillian's cold scowl. "Little girls should be in bed at this hour. Good night, Miss El."</p>
<p>"Good night, Your Majesty." Zora nods, slinking toward the doorway. Her nervous blue gaze flits to Lena. "Good night, L- Your Highness."</p>
<p>Lena rallies enough of her faculties to nod glumly. "Good night, Miss El."</p>
<p>Zora backs out of the room, still looking at Lena, but Lillian's glare sends her scampering away. Lillian huffs condescendingly "Half-wit."</p>
<p>Lena's hands ball into fists. She wants to yell at Lillian that Zora's <em>not</em> a half-wit. She's smart, and she has her own ideas and opinions, and she's Lena's friend. </p>
<p>But no. She keeps herself calm. She can see that her mother's ire has receded somewhat, and contradicting her will only make her angry again. Secondly, she's quite sure she can no longer call Zora her friend after tonight's dinner.</p>
<p>Lillian turns to Lena, her derision clear in every line of her body. "I cannot stand the sight of you tonight. To your room, and think about what you've done. No more meals for you until you learn not to anger your Father. And be grateful it's not worse."</p>
<p>"Yes, Mother." Lena keeps her head down and scurries away, unbelievably glad that she escaped further punishment. Going hungry again will be difficult, but it's better than facing more of Lillian's wrath, or worse, Lionel's.</p>
<p>She stumbles into her room, where the maids silently help her undress. Her hands are still glacial, and there is a thin coating of ice over her arms. None of her maids say anything about it. The last maid to leave blows the lamps out and takes the candle with her, leaving Lena completely alone in the dark.</p>
<p>Only then, alone and curled up in her bed with tiny snowflakes raining down on her hair, does she start crying.</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>She's woken from a fitful sleep, exhausted from crying, by a quiet knocking sound. She uncurls her body slowly, her muscles feeling cramped from sleeping in a fetal position for hours. She looks out the window and sees that it's still dark, and the ornate clock beside her bed tells her it's half-past midnight.</p>
<p>Another knock on her door, followed by a loud whisper. "Lena? Lena! It's me, Zora. Are you asleep? Lena?"</p>
<p>Lena blinks in surprise. She didn't think Zora would ever want to talk to her again, much less come and visit her in the middle of the night. What could she want?</p>
<p>"Leeeenaaa!" Zora wheedles from the other side of the door. "C'mon, let me in. My arms are getting tired."</p>
<p>Lena slides quickly out of bed and crosses the room, careful to hop over the patches of ice on the floor. She opens the door very quietly, just a crack. "Zora?"</p>
<p>The other girl's face breaks out in a wide grin upon seeing her. Lena can see that her arms are laden with food, most likely stolen from the icebox again. "What are you doing here?"</p>
<p>"I came to see you! You said you'd read me more stories, remember?" Through the crack in the door, Lena can see Zora's face fall, her grin turning into a hesitant, nervous frown. "Did you not want to do that anymore? I understand if you don't. I'll just leave--"</p>
<p>"No!" Lena whispers back quickly, not wanting the other girl to leave her. "No, I want to. But... not here. Let's go to the drawing room."</p>
<p>Lena slips out through the door, careful not to open it enough for Zora to see the frozen patches scattered around her room. She leads Zora over to the room next door, just as she did the night before and lets them both in.</p>
<p>Once they're safely inside, Zora flops down onto a chair and lays down the feast she brought with her. But instead of laying into it, Zora ignores the food in favor of patting the space next to her for Lena to sit down. She does so tentatively, unsure of what to say.</p>
<p>"I thought...." Lena starts, her voice soft and uncertain. "I thought you might not want to come over anymore."</p>
<p>"What?" Zora looks up at her from where she’s slumped on the chair. "Why would I not want to do that? I liked spending time with you last night. I had a lot of fun, and I thought you could use some fun after tonight."</p>
<p>Lena avoids her eye, instead fixing her own gaze on her hands tucked primly on her lap. "I thought... after tonight... I thought you might not want to be my friend anymore."</p>
<p>"What??!" Zora exclaims loudly, sitting up, and Lena has to shush her to avoid anyone hearing her and discovering the two of them here. "Oops, sorry. But, Lena..."</p>
<p>Zora's voice softens, and she ducks her head down to meet Lena's eye. "Why would I not want to be your friend? Because your Father's a meanie? Because he's scary? That's no reason not to be friends with someone. Especially not someone as interesting as you. He's not the one I want to be my friend, you are."</p>
<p>Lena looks up at Zora, hardly daring to believe her words. "You - You still want to be my friend?"</p>
<p>Zora laughs. "Of course, silly. Why would I come here with all this food in the middle of the night if I didn't?"</p>
<p>As if remembering her hoard, Zora picks some of the food and shows it to Lena. "Look, I brought some meringues, the ones we had for dessert? I noticed you stopped eating after your Father yelled, so I <em>know</em> you didn't get to try these, and that's unacceptable, because they're <em>amazing!"</em></p>
<p>She stuffs one of the meringues into her mouth and devours it with such enthusiasm that Lena doesn't doubt she can finish the whole lot of it by herself. Lena smiles at her, her heart already brimming with fondness for her new friend.</p>
<p>Her mood is dampened, however, when she remembers Lillian's punishment. "You can't steal this much food from the kitchens anymore, Zora."</p>
<p>Zora pauses mid-bite, her mouth comically open, before she registers Lena's somber tone. "Why not?"</p>
<p>Lena looks away again, fiddling with her hands. "My Mother... After what happened at dinner, she punished me, and she said I'm not to have any meals. I don't know for how long, sometimes it's a couple of days. But if you take this much from the kitchens, she might think it's me stealing it and punish me even more."</p>
<p>"A <em>couple of days??"</em> Zora's eyes are wide and indignant as she gapes at Lena. "You don't get food for two days? Lena, that's <em>horrible!"</em></p>
<p>"It’s my fault. She says I have to learn my lesson. I have to learn not to anger Father so much. I--"</p>
<p>Her voice cuts off when Zora suddenly lunges toward her. Before she can say anything more, Zora's arms are wrapped around her. The other girl holds her in an embrace so tight and warm, Lena doesn't know what to do. This hug lingers more than last night's, and Lena can feel Zora's hands rubbing circles onto her back. It feels... nice. <em>Really</em> nice.</p>
<p>Lena's arms start winding around Zora slowly, hesitantly. Zora doesn't move away, and before she knows it, her own arms are wrapped around Zora, and her face is pressed into soft sunshine-gold hair. The other girl feels comforting around her, and inside Lena’s chest, something warm swirls with the cold that lives inside her. It makes Lena's chest feel full, like she's overflowing.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry your family is horrible to you, Lena." Zora whispers it into her hair, her hands still rubbing Lena's back.</p>
<p>"It's okay," Lena whispers in return. "They're my family, and they know what's best for me. That's what my mother said."</p>
<p>Zora doesn't say anything, but she holds Lena tighter. Lena sinks into her embrace. She could honestly stay here, hugging her friend all night, but she doesn't know how long embraces usually last. Is she holding too tight, too long? Will that scare away her friend?</p>
<p>Eventually, Zora pulls away, with a small smile "My Mother always says a hug makes everything better."</p>
<p>Lena smiles at her shyly. "Thank you. It did make me feel better."</p>
<p>Zora reaches out to tuck a lock of her hair away from her face, her eyes wide and warm with concern. It makes the swirling feeling in Lena's chest swell more. "I wish I could tell off your parents for how mean they are to you."</p>
<p>"Please don't do that." Lena implores her. If either Lillian or Lionel's wrath is ever bent on Zora just because of Lena, she will never be able to forgive herself. "I don't want them to be angry at you."</p>
<p>Zora frowns, a crinkle forming in between her eyebrows. "Okay, I won't. But only 'cause you asked me to. And I promise not to steal too much food from the kitchens every night. <em>But!</em> I <em> will </em> steal a little bit, just enough that I can bring here for you every night. So I know you can at least get something to eat."</p>
<p>Lena's chest overflows at Zora's words. She has a friend, and her friend cares for her! Not only that, but Zora said she plans to visit Lena <em>every night!</em> She never expected to feel this happy, especially after last night's fiasco. </p>
<p>"Thank you, Zora."</p>
<p>"Of course! You're my friend now, Lena." Zora smiles sweetly at her, her blue eyes sparkling even in the dim light. "So what kind of meringue do you want first?"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I have no idea what I'm doing.</p>
<p>As usual, please let me know what you think!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Come scream at me on my supercorp trashblog <a href="https://missluthorwillseeyounow.tumblr.com/post/613770145857421312/blunaowl-vizual-vibe-the-blue-glow-of-this">@missluthorwillseeyounow</a> (This is kinda what I imagined the cave with the Harun-El would look like, but bigger)<br/>Or yell at me on my main blog <a href="https://sorrowsflower.tumblr.com/">@sorrowsflower</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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